After the not-rapture

The post from two days ago with a short story about an alternative scenario for the rapture was, as it was labeled, fiction. It arose from an idle conversation about the then-predicted rapture, and nothing more should be read into it.

That said, on this bright sunny Sunday morning, May 22, 2011, I am forced to wonder: how many more times can you be completely wrong before no one believes you?

Many people liken this to a weather prediction, and after all, when the weatherman isn’t right, do we stop believing everything he tells us? No, of course not. But I would submit that’s because his success rate isn’t -zero-. If it were, they’d probably replace him with someone better. But so far, apocalypse predictors are batting .000 and that fact simply makes the amazement that much more powerful when I hear people making excuses for why they’re going to just keep on believing.

For those believers, I implore: wake up. Your belief that there is going to be this catastrophic event that will result in you being completely vindicated in your faith while everyone else will suffer… is a fantasy brought on by your refusal to fully engage in this life. Please start doing that. It will not be easy, I know, and I feel for you.

For the rest of us, the watchword here is compassion. Be mindful of the fact that these people have just suffered a blow to their faith, and that hurts. They will probably be irrational, and will cling to the belief, but some will suffer crisis, and that can be very dangerous. Do not ridicule these people. It is not our way.